Mr King was arrested on Thursday morning at his home

Police confirmed they had detained 38-year-old Tony Alexander King in connection with the death of 17-year-old Sonia Carabantes.

There were angry scenes as Mr King was arrested on Thursday morning at his home in the town of Alhaurin el Grande in the southern Spanish province of Malaga.

The murder of Miss Carabantes has dominated the Spanish media since she disappeared on 14 August while returning home from a fiesta on the Costa del Sol.

Her body was found five days later.

She had been strangled, beaten and stripped but there was no evidence of sexual assault.

Crowds shouted angrily as Mr King was led from the house where he has been living for six years.

The mayor of Alhaurin El Grande, Juan Martin, said the Briton had been taken to the nearby coastal resort of Fuengirola for questioning.

Angry crowds shouted as Mr King was led from his home

Mr King has denied any connection with the crime, Spain's Interior Minister Angel Acebes said.

Detectives have used DNA tests on blood and other traces found under Miss Carabantes' fingernails to assist them in their investigations.

Police are investigating if there is a link with the killing of another local girl at nearby Mijas Costa.

Rocio Wanninkhof, 19, disappeared from her home in on 9 October, 1999.

Like Miss Carabantes, she had been strangled and left naked but had not been sexually assaulted.

Dolores Vazquez was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.

The prosecution had alleged she murdered Ms Wanninkhof in revenge after a lesbian affair with her mother ended.